High Court decision allows second stage of Gilad Schalit exchange deal to move forward as planned.

The
High Court rejected on Friday afternoon a petition asking justices to
delay the second stage of the Gilad Schalit prisoner exchange deal, Army
Radio reported. A total of 550 Palestinian security prisoners are set to be released on Sunday, according to a list published on the
Prison Service website.

The petition, filed by the Israel Law
Center (Shurat HaDin) on Thursday, comes after the High Court decided
not to accede to requests by terror victims in October to interfere in
the release of 1,027 Palestinian security prisoners as part of the first
stage in the government-brokered deal to free kidnapped soldier
Schalit.

Terror
victims had complained that the government had not given them sufficient notice
that terrorists convicted of murdering their family members were among those
scheduled for release, but the court said it would not delay the deal after the
state argued the timeline for the first stage was critical.

However, in
its petition the Law Center argued that as Schalit has now been returned safely
to Israel, the court must allow for a “full democratic and public process” to
take place and order the government to establish criteria determining which
security prisoners should be released.

According to the petition,
although Israel is committed to honor the Schalit deal, there is nothing to
prevent the government from delaying the second phase of prisoner releases in
order to establish such criteria.

“Schalit is free, there is no immediate
threat to life. It’s crucial that the democratic process is thoroughly played
out. The citizens victimized by these terrorists must be able to bring their
claims before the court,” said Law Center Director attorney Nitzana
Darshan-Leitner.

“In a democratic state, all citizens who oppose the
government’s policy must be given adequate notice and an opportunity to be heard
by neutral judicial officers.”

The petition argues that the rights of
terror victims and their families could be harmed if they are not given
sufficient time to contest the release of specific prisoners, and
Darshan-Leitner noted that the Prison Service website published the list of
prisoners to be released on Wednesday, ahead of their release on
Sunday.

“It takes time for the families to be notified and the cases be
brought to court.

Not allowing an adequate opportunity is a travesty of
justice,” she said.

In addition to the Legal Center, terror victims
Michael Norzich and Dr. Alan Bauer also chose to be named on the petition.
Norzich’s brother Vadim was murdered by a Palestinian lynch mob in Ramallah in
2000. One of the Palestinians convicted of carrying out that murder, Abed Alaziz
Salaha, was released during the first phase of the Schalit deal.

Bauer, a
US citizen living in Israel, was injured with his son Jonathan in a Fatah
suicide bombing on Jerusalem’s King George Street in 2002.

The attack
killed three and wounded 86 others. One of the men responsible for that bombing,
Fatah terrorist Darwish Ghazi Darwish Dahdar, is among those set to be released
on Sunday as part of the second phase.

In an interview with The Jerusalem
Post on Thursday, Bauer said that in line with strict US anti-terror legislation
– which stipulates that foreign terrorists suspected of harming US citizens
outside US soil can be subject to prosecution in the US – he and other terror
victims have informed US Attorney-General Eric Holder that several people
convicted of killing and harming Americans may have been freed without the
required public debate.

Bauer said he hoped the petition will “let Israel
know that it is not the only country affected by the prisoner
releases.”

“Several people who carried out our attack are still free,” he
added.

Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe thanked Prime
Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Thursday for agreeing to release a French national
as part of the second stage of the Gilad Schalit exchange.

Salah Hassan
Hamouri, a recidivist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist,
was convicted in 2005 for plotting the assassination of Shas spiritual leader
Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. Hamouri holds French citizenship.

“Since 2009,
President Sarkozy has been expressing the hope that Mr. Salah Hamouri would be
granted early release... France appreciates this gesture by the Israeli Prime
Minister and government,” Juppe said.

Sites Of Interest

The Jerusalem Post Customer Service Center can be contacted with any questions or requests:
Telephone: *2421 * Extension 4 Jerusalem Post or 03-7619056 Fax: 03-5613699E-mail: [email protected]
The center is staffed and provides answers on Sundays through Thursdays between 07:00 and 14:00 and Fridays only handles distribution requests between 7:00 and
13:00
For international customers: The center is staffed and provides answers on Sundays through Thursdays between 7AM and 6PM
Toll Free number in Israel only 1-800-574-574
Telephone +972-3-761-9056
Fax: 972-3-561-3699
E-mail: [email protected]